Apparatus for refining petroleum.



A. F. L. BELL.

APPARATUS FOR REFINING PETROLEUM.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 10| 1916.

Patented July 3, L91?.

3 SHEETS-SHEET l.

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y INV NToR WITNESS A. F. L. BELL.

APPARATUS FOR REFINING PETROLEUM.

APPLICATION FILED MAY I0, 1916. LQSLQ@ Patented July 3,1917.

-- 3 SHEETS- SHEET 2 A. F. L. BELL.

APPARATUS FOR REFINING PETROLEUM.

APPLICATION HLEQ MAY 1o, 191s.

lpllg Patented July 3, 19m

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3- WITNESS d Y IN VENTOR. w-'yw ,wfm M@ v i /J A TTOR NE y.

ARTHUR n. IlxBELL, or san rnancrsco, onmromvra.

APPARATUS FOR agences;

Application led May 10, 1916. Serial No. 96,5%.

My inventlon relates to apparatus for re? ning petroleum in which the cracking iseected under high pressure Within a still.

The object of my invention is to provide for a continuous operation of the process,

said object being made possible and attained by the continuous, automatic removal of the carbon which constantly forms on the inside of the pressure still when brought to the necessary temperature required for cracking purposes.

To this end my invention consists in means for continuouslyand automatically removing the carbon from the still walls, and drecting 'it to a receiver for nal disposition,

'without cessation of the cracking operation carried out in the still.

1n stills as commonly used in which oil is .cracked under pressure,lthe accumulation of coke is such that it is not safe to operate the still on more than one batch of oil without having to shut the still down, cool it off, and lsend men inside of it to clean and scrapeit out before operating it again. I Even when oil is cracked under pressure in pipe retorts inside a furnace, asI is also the practice, a earbon is produced on the inside of the pipes which in a short time, so fills the coil with carbon that it becomes user less and has to be removed.

ln some cases air is forced through the 1i-0' heated coil, the idea being that the oxygen in the air will ignite the carbon and burn it out. The fact is however, that although combustion takes place, it only partly reduces the quantity of the carbon, burning the remain- 45 der on the walls of the pipe, so that after a' few operations the pipe is filled with a Asuccession of layers of coke, which necessitates the removal of the coil.

In another practice the oil is generated 550 into Vapor at the point of entrance to rotort tubes, so ythat instead of the retort 'being filled with oil it is filled with' the vapors Specification of Letters Patent.

REFINING PETROLEUM.

Patented July 3, Wil't'.

which are cracked by coming in contact with." the heated walls. Like the other processes, however, carbon builds up on the sides of the retort; and although mechanical revolving devices with chains have been rotated inside the tube, they have not prevented the buildlng up of excessive thicknesses of carbon on the inside walls of the retort to such a degree that the retorts must be removed every few days, and the carbon taken out.

In the form of stills and retorts so far constructed, it is diiicult to control the intensity of the heat radiating against the surfaces. The result is that certain parts of the retorts or stills are heated to a greater degree than others, with the effectthat the parts receiving the greatest heat, become heated to such an extent that oxidationand sluiiing 0H of the surfaces of the steel, due to the aflinity between oxygen and red hotI steel, takes place; also there isa. distortion of the metal on account of being heated to a point where the tensile strength of the heated metal cannot sustain its shape against the in-V ternal pressure. l

My invention contempletes a still con- I surfaces and closely follow any inequalities thereof, thereby scraping ofi' the accumulate carbon, and directing it to a reservoir chamber, from which it can be removed at the will of the operator, without stopping the continuous distillation taking place in the still. l prefer to use a revolving still` mounted on a` hollow shaft revolving on trunnions, though my invention is not vconfined to this form, for it can be applied to any form of vertical or horizontal still having a reservoir for the receiving of the removed carbon, which is guided to this reservoir by means of the yielding flexible Scrapers.

l am aware that stirring and scraping devices have been used in stems for the purpose of keeping foreign substances or solids in still to run continuously; or, at any rate, for a much longer period than would be possible where no scrapers had been used.

Referring to the accompanying drawings- Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of my improved still, showing it in its preferred form.

Fig. 2 is a cross section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a cross section on the line 3--3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a sectional detail showing a modification in the reservoir chamber or receiver for the carbon.

Fig. 5 is a longitudinal section showing mylimprovements applied to a non-rotatable st Fig. 6 is a part cross section on the line 6-6 of Fig. 5 to show the Scrapers.

Referring to Fig. 1, the brick foundation and furnace are indicated by 1, with burner 1'. 2 is the still preferably set at an inclination. The still has a hollow central shaft 3 which is mounted on trunnions 4, for axial rotation, by means of power transmitted through a gear 5.

The oil is supplied to thestill from a suitable source, not shown, by means of a pump 6, the outlet pipe 7 from which communi- Cates with the oil feed pipe 8 which enters the hollow shaft 3 of the still and delivers the oil thereinto, said-oil then entering the still through holes 9 in said central shaft.

The distilled vapors enter the central shaft and pass therefrom into the vapor outlet 10.

I have not deemed it necessary to show the condenser connections of the vapor outlet, nor the receiving box for the condensed distillates and its connections, as these form no part of my invention. I have, however, shown a pipe 11 which serves to return to the oil feed pipe 8, such portion of the vapors as are not cracked, so that they may be again operated on in the still, and I al'so show by a pipe 12, that a small part of the oil maJ be used to lubricate the stuing box at 13.

14 are Scrapers. These may be in suitable number, extending along the length of the still at its lowermost portion, and in con@ tact with its wall. The Scrapers are independent of each other, and each is yprovided with two arms 15 which are pivotally hung at 16 upon a shaft 17 common to all. The .shaft 17 is carried in the lower ends of ring hangers 1S which at intervals are journaled freely in suitable bearings 19 on the central shaft 3. Thus, though the still 2' and its central shaft 3 rotate, the scrapers hang free and act upon the inner surface of the still wall throughout its entire circumference as sa id wall rotates against them. Each scraper being itself pivotally hung by its arms has a flexibilityv adapting it to conform to inequalities of surface. The carbon removed by the Scrapers is directed by them and by the inclination of the still, to the lower end.

In order to remove the carbon thus directed and accumulating, there is secured to and revolving with the still at its lower end an arcuate scoop pipe 20, the outer open end of which lies in the circumference of the still, and its inner end opens into the hollow shaft 3, so that ateach revolution said scoop pipe picks I it to the shaft. ecured to 'the shaft and communicating with it is the reservoir cham-- ber 21, with a valved outlet 22.

23 is a flexibly supported pipe carried by a pillar 24 and operated by a screw 25, to approach said outlet and form therewith a closing joint, as will be presently described.

The operation of the still as thus described is as follows Oil is supplied by the pump 6 to the still which is being rotated, through the feed pipe 8, and apertured hollow shaft 3, a portion of the oil being passed through pipe 12 to lubricate the stuiiing box 13. The vapors pass out through the holes 9 into the hollow shaft 3, past the transverse web supporting the inner end of pipe 8, through said pipe and up through the vapor outlet 10 to -its condenser and distillate connections and are treated and disposed of in manner well known.

As the cracking takes place in the still; more or less carbon is constantly deposited on the surfaces, which carbon is continuously scraped off by the exible Scrapers 14 and delivered to the lower end of the still, where it is picked up by scoop pipe 20 which delivers it inside of the revolving shaft 3, and from there it finds its way to the reser- Voir chamber 21. When it is necessary to remove the carbon which has accumulated in reservoir chamber 21, the still is stopped revolving for a few minutes and thev flexible pipe "23 is forced `up by the screw 25, so that it makes a tight joint on valved outlet 22. The valve of this outlet is then opened, and due to the pressure inside the still, all of the loose carbon is pushed out into pipe 23 for delivery to a receiving tank.

In some cases instead of using this form of reservoir chamber 21, i't might be desirable, as shown in Fig. 4, to extend the re` volving shaft 3 into a stationary reservoir chamber 26, making the joint by means of stuffing box 27. In this manner it would not be necessary to stop the revolving of the still, when necessary to empty the stationary chamber 26.

If it is desired to use a stationary still. such as 28 in Figs. 5 and 6, the method of condensing will be the same as the revolving still, the vapors leaving the still by pipe 29 and the distillates returning for recracking by pipe 30, the fresh oil being pumped into the still by pipe 31. This still is ug) the carbon and delivers memes mounted in a brick Setting :'n the ordinary,l

manner, and the interior central shaft 32 is rotated through' the gear 33. Attached to the rotating shaft and revolving with it are the Scrapers 34 arranged in helical Series to guide the removed carbon to the reservoir chamber 35, from which -as accumulated, said carbon is discharged from time to time. Each Scraper iS independently yieldable by sliding on its arms 36, and is controlled by a Spring 37. If a vertical or cheese box Still is used, the Scrapers will be so arranged as to guide the scraped carbon to a reservoir chsiilmber inthe center of the bottom of the sti It is obvious that my improvements are not confined to any form of still, nor to any form of Scrapers Vnor receiving reservoir for the carbon', providing the arrangement be Such as to continuously scrape the carbon 0E and direct and guide it to the reservoir and dispose of it thence, all without interfering with the continuous operation of thestill or with the process of distillation carried out `therein. But I prefer to use the revolving form of still, as this form permits better distribution of the heat over the-surfaces,

' thereby not allowing one portion to become more heated than another, greatly reducing the quantity of carbon deposited, by preventing over-heating, and reducing the possibility of distortion of the still or o f undue oxidation. l.

1. In longitudinally inclined still mounted for rotation on its axis; a non-rotating scraper within the still, acting in contact with-its inner Surface to remove the carbon therefrom; and a reservoir chamber in communication with the lower end of the stilltoward which the removed carbon is'continuously.

. advanced during the operation of the still.

scraper within the still acting in contact with its inner surface and automatically adjustable thereon, to remove the carbon there which the removed carbon is continuously i advanced during the operation of thestill.

' 3. In petroleum rening apparatus, a still` mounted for rotation on its axis; a Series of independently yielding non-rotating scrap- -0f the still.

ers within the still acting in contact with its inner surface and independentlyl automatically adjustable thereon, to remove the carbon therefrom; a reservoir chamber coinmunicating with the still; and means within the still to transferl the removed carbon to Said reservoir chamber during the operation petroleum refining apparatus, av

from said sha-ft and acting on the inner surface of the Still to remove the carbon therefrom; a reservoir chamber in communication with the hollow shaft; and means within the still for transferring the removed carbon from the still to the hollow shaft A during the operation of the still.

` 5. n petroleum refining apparatus, a rotatable still having a hollow central shaft in its axis, said'shaft projecting from .the still end; a non-rotatable scraper suspended from said shaft and acting on the inner surface of the still to remove the carbon therefrom; a reservoir chamber carried by the projecting end of the hollow shaft and in communication with its bore; and means within the still for transferring the removed carbon from the still to the hollow shaft during the operation of the still.

6. In petroleum refining apparatus, a still having a hollow, apertured, central shaft and mounted for rotation on its axis; means for 'supplying the still with oil through its hollow apertured shaft; means for carrying away from the still, through said shaft, the

distilled vapors; a. non-rotatable scraper suS- vby the shaft and arranged to transfer the removed carbon to said hollow shaft; and a reservoir chamber in communication with the hollow shaft to receive the carbon therefrom during -the operation of the Still.

7. In petroleum refining apparatus, a still -having a hollow, apertured, central shaft and mounted for rotation on its axis; means for supplying the still with oil through its hollow apertured shaft; means for carrying Y away from the still, 'through said shaft, thev distilled vapors; a non-rotatable yielding scraper suspended from said shaft and in automatically `adjustable contact with the bon therefrom; 'a scoop-pipe carried by the v shaft and arranged to transfer the removed from; and a reservoir chamber in communication with the lower end of the still toward and mounted for rotation on its axis; means for supplying the Still with oil through its hollow apertured shaft; means for carrying away from the still, through said shaft, the distilled vapors; a series of non-rotatable independently yieldable Scrapers suspended inner Surface of the still to remove the carfrom Said Shaft and in automatically adv justable contact with the inner Surface of the still to remove the carbon therefrom; a

scoop-pi e carried by the shaft and arranged name to this specification in the presence of Y {1;0 trslnser th removed arllon o seid hol-v two subscribing witnesses.

ow s a an a reservo1r c am er 1n com- I municatioll with the hollow shaft to receive 1 ARTHUR F' L' BELL' '5 the carbon therefrom during the operation Witnesses:

of the still. WM. F. Boom, In testimony whereof I have signed my D. B. RICHARDS. 

